Arsonists hit golf club twice in three days

Arsonists have attacked a top Scottish golf club twice in the space of three days.

Fereneze Golf Club in East Renfrewshire was attacked on May 8, with Glasgow Live saying the fire ‘caused heavy black smoke and flames to be seen for miles’.

Firefighters took over an hour to put out the grass fire, which had been started in the evening, and no one was injured.

On May 11 the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was called back to the golf club after another major fire was started – approximately 72 hours after the first one.

“Smoke was sent billowing from the course as concerned homeowners living nearby contacted the fire brigade,” reported STV.

“Vandals set fire to the 11th hole of the course.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: “We were there for about an hour.

“It was a large grass fire on the course.”

Agronomist Alistair Beggs said of the course: “It is always wonderful to walk a golf course which is so evidently natural. It is important that its natural character is retained for the future. It is hoped that the members of Fereneze recognise the uniqueness of what they have and act to preserve it in the future.”

The club’s website says the course is ‘located in beautiful moorland countryside high above Paisley on Glennifer Braes which is almost 600 feet above sea level. The panoramic views from the tees and fairways are spectacular with superb viewing over Paisley and the Lower Clyde Valley to Ben Lomond and beyond.

‘With the course playing at almost 6,000 yards from the medal tees, it provides a great test for all levels of amateur golfers. A medium length course by yardage, Fereneze is the closest thing you will find to a links course without going to the seaside. With relatively tight fairways this is a course which rewards accurate driving. Each hole presents a new challenge, with golfers having to adapt to local conditions when playing approach shots to fast and sloping greens.’